Snow White
Snow White
The story
This is an adaptation of the famous classic German tale (story) by the Brothers Grimm. It was written a long
time ago and was made into a much loved animated film by Disney in 1937.
A beautiful queen was sewing by the window in her castle on a cold, snowy day when she pricked her finger
on the needle. She did not realise it until she looked out the window and saw three drops of blood on the white
snow. When she saw it, she made a wish that she could have a baby girl with snow white skin, blood red lips
and dark black hair. Soon after that, she had a baby girl with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and
hair as black as the night. She and the king named their baby Snow White. Sadly, the queen died soon after the
baby was born.
The king married another beautiful woman and she became the new queen, but she was vain and the only
thing she cared about was that she was the prettiest woman in the land. The new queen had a magic mirror
that answered any questions she asked it. Every day she asked the mirror who was the prettiest of all. The
mirror answered that she was the prettiest of them all, until one day when Snow White was about seven years
old. When the queen asked the mirror her question that day, the mirror answered that Snow White was the
prettiest of all. The wicked queen was jealous and angry.
She ordered a huntsman to take Snow White to the forest and to kill her with his knife. She told the huntsman
to bring back Snow White’s heart as proof that she was dead. The huntsman obeyed and took Snow White to
the forest. But when Snow White began to cry and asked him not to kill her and begged him to leave her in the
forest, he put down his knife. He left Snow White in the forest, killed a deer instead, and took the deer’s heart to
the wicked queen.
In the forest, Snow White discovered a little cottage, the home of the seven dwarfs, where she stopped to rest.
The dwarfs came home and found her asleep on a bed. In the morning when she woke up, she apologised to
the dwarfs for eating some of their food and drinking some of their milk and for falling asleep on one of the
seven beds. When she told them about the wicked queen and the huntsman, the dwarfs invited her to live with
them. They told her that they needed someone to look after them, cook for them, make their beds, and wash
their clothes. So Snow White agreed to live with them.
Meanwhile when the wicked queen asked her mirror who was the prettiest of them all, the mirror replied that
Snow White, in the dwarfs’ house, was prettier than the queen. The angry queen decided to disguise herself as
a ribbon seller in order to trick Snow White into opening the door and letting the wicked queen in. She put on
an old black dress and took a basket of pretty ribbons to the dwarfs’ house. When she called out that she had
ribbons to sell, Snow White opened the door. The wicked queen ran into the house and tied a long red ribbon
tightly round Snow White. When the wicked queen thought Snow White was dead, she ran back to the castle
crying ‘Now I’m the prettiest of them all!’
When the dwarfs came home and found Snow White, they quickly untied the ribbon and were relieved to find
that Snow White was still alive. They told her that the wicked queen did this and that Snow White must not
open the door to anyone again.
But that night when the queen asked her mirror the question, again it told her that Snow White was prettier
than her. The angry queen disguised herself as a seller of shiny combs and put poison on the end of one of the
combs. The next morning when the ‘comb seller’ cried out that she had combs to sell, Snow White hesitated.
1
Explorers 3: Snow White Teacher’s Notes
This page has been downloaded from www.macmillanenglish.com/young learners © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2011
Snow White
But she loved shiny combs and the ‘old woman’ looked kind, so Snow White opened the door. Again the wicked
queen rushed in. She put the comb in Snow White’s hair, and the poor girl fell to the floor.
The seven dwarfs returned home that evening and found Snow White on the floor. She was dead, they thought,
but when they pulled the comb out of her hair, she woke up. They told her that the wicked queen did this and
that Snow White must not open the door to anyone again. That night the wicked queen asked her mirror the
same question again it told her that Snow White was prettier than her. The angry queen disguised herself as an
apple seller and put poison in one of the apples.
The next morning when the ‘apple seller’ cried out that she had apples to sell, Snow White hesitated. But she
loved apples and the ‘old woman’ looked kind, so Snow White opened the door. Again the wicked queen rushed
in. She made Snow White take a bite of an apple, and the poor girl fell to the floor. The seven dwarfs return
home that evening and found Snow White on the floor. She was dead, they thought, and they cried. They made
a glass case to put her body in. That night the wicked queen asked her mirror the same question and the mirror
told her that nobody was prettier than her. The queen smiled and was glad that Snow White was finally dead.
Time passed, and one day a handsome prince knocked on the dwarfs’ front door asking for a place to sleep. He
was tired from hunting. When the prince went inside and saw Snow White in the glass case, he immediately fell
in love with her. He asked the dwarfs if he could take her home to his castle. Although they loved her, they let
him take her away. On the way to his castle, the prince dropped the glass case and it broke. The apple fell out
of Snow White’s mouth and she woke up. When the prince asked her to marry him, she smiled and said yes.
The king and the seven dwarfs went to the wedding and everyone lived happily ever after.
Introducing the book
The title page
The cover
l Ask
the children to turn to the title page.
Hold up your own book and point to the
mirror. Ask What is this? What is Snow White
doing?
l Hold
up the cover. Read the book’s title to
and with the class.
l Point
lAsk
What do you think the story is going to be
about now?
to the girl. Ask Who do you think she is?
l Point
to each of the seven dwarfs. Ask Who
do you think they are? What do you know about
dwarfs?
l Explain
that the story is a classic (famous)
tale (story) by the Brothers Grimm. Point to
their name. Explain that the story has been
adapted (made simpler) by another writer.
Point to her name.
l Point
to the trees in the background. Ask
Where do you think they are?
2
Explorers 3: Snow White Teacher’s Notes
This page has been downloaded from www.macmillanenglish.com/young learners © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2011
Snow White
The contents page
l Ask
the children to turn to the contents page.
Explain that the Contents list tells us what is
in the book.
lAsk
How many chapters are there? Read the
chapter titles to and with the class. Briefly
explain any unfamiliar words. Ask the
children what page each chapter starts on.
l Point
out that at the end of the book there is
a poem (on pages 42–43) and some activities
using a mirror (beginning on page 44).
l Read
the chapter titles again and ask
questions about them to stimulate the
children’s interest, for example:
– Chapter 4: Show the cover again. Ask How
many dwarfs are there?
– Chapter 5: Ask Who do you think gets a new
home?
– Chapter 9: Ask What do you think the
handsome prince will do?
l Tell
the children to do the related activity on
page 1 of their Workbook.
You can play the audio download of
the story at any time you choose.
See www.macmillanenglish.com/
younglearners
3
Explorers 3: Snow White Teacher’s Notes
This page has been downloaded from www.macmillanenglish.com/young learners © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2011
Snow White
Chapter 1
Snow White
Passive vocabulary
cry queen needle thread
Before reading
Pages 3 to 5
l Pre-teach
the active vocabulary (see Teacher’s
Notes Introduction page 13 and the Glossary
on page 38). Use the notes in the table to
discuss any interesting features of the words.
l Ask
the children to do the activity on page 2
of their Workbook to practise the new
vocabulary.
l Tell
the children to look at the picture on
page 3. Read the Chapter 1 title again. Ask
Who do you think the woman is? What is she
doing? Where do you think she lives?
l Tell
the children to look at the picture on
page 4. Ask What is the woman thinking about?
Is she happy or sad? Ask the children to
describe the woman and the girl.
l Tell
the children to look at the picture on
page 5. Ask Who is the woman holding? Who is
the man? What colour is the baby’s hair? What
colour are the baby’s lips?
Active vocabulary
beautiful
unusual because it contains so
many vowels; means ‘full of beauty’
castle
the ‘t’ is silent
die
rhymes with buy, sky, fly, why
finger
the ‘g’ here is a hard ‘g’
ill
put ‘b’, ‘f’, ‘h’, ‘p’, ‘w’ in front of ill
to make rhyming words
lip
put ‘c’, ‘f’, ‘s’ in front of lip to make
rhyming words
lots of
lots of and a lot of have the same
meaning
skin
find the word in ‘hiding’ inside
snow
the ‘ow’ sounds like the name of
the letter ‘o’; and rhymes with slow
young
the ‘ou’ sounds like ‘u’ in sun
l Ask
the children to describe the family. Ask
Are they happy/sad? Will the baby have an easy/
happy life?
l Ask
the children if they have seen the film of
Snow White and Seven Dwarfs. If anyone has
seen it, ask if they enjoyed it and why.
During reading
l Read
the chapter expressively to the class (or
play the audio download). Do not stop to
explain anything or to ask questions. Ensure
the children are following in their books.
l Choose
whichever of the following options is
most appropriate for your class:
– Read the chapter again and encourage the
class to read it with you.
4
Explorers 3: Snow White Teacher’s Notes
This page has been downloaded from www.macmillanenglish.com/young learners © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2011
Snow White
– Read the chapter again, a paragraph at a
time, and ask the class (or individuals) to
read each paragraph aloud after you.
l Ask
the children to find an example of
exclamations in the chapter. Draw attention
to the punctuation. Read it aloud, and draw
attention to how your tone of voice changes.
– Do not read again yourself. Ask groups or
individuals to read the chapter aloud, a
paragraph at a time.
l Point
out that the name Snow White begins
with capital letters.
l Read
(or play) the chapter again, a
paragraph at a time. Explain the meaning
and pronunciation of the words listed as
passive vocabulary (and any other
unfamiliar words).
l Ask
the children to find and read aloud
examples of words containing: ‘ee’; ‘ea’; ‘oo’;
‘ow’.
l Finally,
ask individuals to re-read short
sections of the text aloud. Encourage them to
read expressively and with appropriate
intonation. (You might like to ask children to
play the role of particular characters and
read their parts.)
l Discuss
how the pictures can help the reader
guess the meaning of the text.
Stage 1 comprehension (literal)
Ask the questions orally, or set them as
a written activity. You can also ask the
children to do the activity on page 3 of their
Workbook.
After reading
Stage 2 comprehension (extension)
Ask these questions orally, or set them as a
written activity for the more able. Answers
will vary. Encourage the children to give
reasons for their suggestions, and accept any
answer they can justify.
1 Where did the king live?
2 Who did the king live with?
3 Was this a short time ago?
4 What did the beautiful queen make?
5 What did she use to make the picture?
1 How do you know that the woman in the
window is from a long time ago?
6 Where did she sit?
2 Why do you think she wanted to make a
picture with a needle and thread?
7 Was it hot or cold?
8 There was lots of __________.
3 Did she know that she had pricked her finger
when she was making the picture?
9 What did the queen open?
10 Why did she open the window?
4 What do you think the queen thought about
when she was making the picture?
11 What did she see on the snow?
12 Why was there blood on the snow?
5 Why did the queen choose the name Snow
White for her baby?
13 What will the queen have soon?
14 What name will the queen give her baby girl?
15 What will be as white as snow?
6 Why did the queen want her baby’s skin to
be as white as snow?
16 What colour will the baby’s lips be?
7 Did the queen like lips as red as blood? Why?
17 Her hair will be as black as __________.
8 Why do you think the queen wanted her
baby’s hair to be black?
18 What happened to the beautiful queen?
19 When did the queen die?
5
Explorers 3: Snow White Teacher’s Notes
This page has been downloaded from www.macmillanenglish.com/young learners © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2011
Snow White
9 Did the queen get the baby she wanted? How
do you know?
10 Do you think the king and queen were happy
with their baby for many years?
l Write
some words from the chapter on the
board and ask the children to find any
smaller words ‘hiding’ inside each longer
word (for example, needle).
l Ask
the children to find examples of the
queen speaking in the text. Draw their
attention to the speech marks and discuss
how they are used. Ask Which words go inside
the speech marks?
l Ask
the children what they know about using
a needle and thread. Discuss what it means
‘to prick your finger’ and how much blood
there is after pricking your finger. Explain
that pricking your finger is less serious than
cutting your finger.
l Ask
the children if the queen thought the
blood on the snow was telling her something
about the future. Ask Did the queen think that
the white snow was beautiful? Did the red blood
on the snow make the queen feel afraid or not?
l Discuss
the comparative form ‘as + adjective
+ as = noun’. Ask the children to make up
their own (for example: as white as milk, as
red as cherries, as black as coal).
l If
appropriate, try some Extension Activities
(see Teacher’s Notes Introduction page 19).
lAsk
What do you think will happen next in the
story?
6
Explorers 3: Snow White Teacher’s Notes
This page has been downloaded from www.macmillanenglish.com/young learners © Macmillan Publishers Limited 2011